Instagram Hangs Itself

Instagram's fame as THE
photo-sharing app is in jeopardy.

Instagram released its new terms of service overnight, and the backlash has been swift and sharp.  No one knows yet how this will play out, but many Instagram users are threatening to leave the service.

So what happened?  Their updated terms of service state that "you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."  Ouch!

If the debate gets any hotter, there could be government intervention or a law suit, which would hurt the company even more that user abandonment!

Instagram's response, so far, has been to say that this was a move taken to better integrate with its parent company, Facebook, which already does this a little.  I've seen ads that list profile photos and names of my friends as "Likers" of other pages that I should also, apparently, like.

The Marketing Take-away
This is a two-edged sword for marketers, because we LOVE to use customer data for our own purposes, and photos are part of that.  But with the severe infringement on people's personal information and images could cause consumers to lose confidence in companies that use this type of information to sell products or services.

My advice to marketers and companies?  Wait it out and see what happens before making the move to use people's Instagram photos and metadata to marketing anything?

Now tell me: what do YOU think about Instagram's new terms of service?

-MJP

Man of Steel hits 10 MILLION VIEWS!!!

When I was a kid, I absolutely LOVE getting to the theater early enough to catch all the previews!  Now, I just watch them all on YouTube.  The most recent one was the second trailer for Man of Steel, the Chris-Nolan-produced Superman reboot.

Nolan-branded entertainment is popular right now, thanks to his recently-completed Batman trilogy.  This latest Superman movie trailer got to 10 MILLION views in just three days, which points to an excellent opening next June.  I know I'll be going; will you?

Click "Read More" to view the trailer and continue reading!

Never say "No" to Panda!

I'll admit that I'm ignorant of different languages, so I have NO IDEA what language they're speaking in these videos; the subtitles help, but aren't necessary, really. The moral of these commercials: buy Panda brand foods because you never want to make a panda mad; they'll make you pay for it!

Click "Read More" to watch the video.

Worst acupuncture experience EVER!

I have no idea what this ad is for, but it made me laugh pretty hard! Please post a comment below with guesses as to what it might be!

Who wants some Ronald tonight?

GEICO is famous for its funny ads, many of which have very little to do with insurance.  This one is my new favorite, and I was super-excited to find this uncut version of it!  After you watch the uncut version, check out the second video. It's the actual ad that appeared on TV, and I enjoyed seeing how they added text and re-cut it to act as a GEICO commercial.

Please leave a comment letting me know about YOUR favorite GEICO commercial!

A Canadian University's BIG blunder!

I'm all for protecting copyright-holders and all of that, but YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!  This has to be the dumbest school rule EVER!  Monitoring university email addresses to check for LINKS?  What's wrong with links? The university said it's to protect copyright infringement, but it's obvious what they're doing: looking for another way to make money!

How to interview

Will this bow tie help with my interviewing skills?

I want to mention a blog I read this morning that had some good advice on having Q&A-type discussions with other business professionals.  Click here to view the article.

The fact is, most people have NO IDEA how to conduct a quality interview; at least, I know I haven't

Dollar Shave Club's AWESOME video is marketing GOLD!

I saw this video the other day, and it made me laugh...maybe even OUT LOUD! I actually went to their site, just to see if it was real. It IS a real company, and they do what they say they'll do: ship you one razor each month to your door. Despite being pretty funny, the video also does a good job of laying out the company's purpose and promise. The promise is one of the funniest parts: "Our blades are F*CKING great!"

Click "Read more" below to see the video, then let me know what you think by posting a comment!

Banana Marketing

I never would have thought...

It's a pretty funny way to do it, and it's one of the last places I would think to look for an ad...which makes it the best place for it.  Plus, putting the ad on bananas fits the "Chipwrecked" movie's theme of tropical islands.  I didn't think of it, but I'm wondering now if they had these same stickers on OTHER types of fruit, too!

This party is MANDATORY!

I 'm a big fan of best-of lists, especially when they're funny.  This one's pretty good, and I'd also like it if there was a best-of-30-Rock list.

Brand Symbols, Part 1

The almighty NES controller!

When they originally released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States, it was a smash hit, including my home.  Due to parental controls - in those days, that actually meant "parents" - I could only play it for 30 minutes every weekday.  Weekends were different, of course, and Saturdays were when the controllers got the most sticky from sweat and food residue.

Small pet...or huge rat?

This 3-foot rat looks more like a pet dog than a monster rodent!

I've always heard jokes about giant-rat sightings in New York City, but this is no joke!  It was found in the back room of a Foot Locker in the Bronx.  My question is: how can Foot Locker turn this around and keep it from turning into a big problem?

A successful viral video

I haven't listened to the radio in a long time; mostly, I've just been listening to books non-stop.  Also, I'm not extremely active on Twitter, so I totally missed out on this gem of a music video.  It's unique, the song's catchy...and the marketing implications of this video are amazing!  Read my full post to view the video, too!

(P.S. Beware of SCAMS!)

As disaster clean-up continues around my neighborhood, I've been seeing more news vans than usual.  Unfortunately, no one has stopped to talk with me...until yesterday.  Below, I've posted the brief video.  I know it's a bit vain, but I'm fine with a little of that!

More charitable giving as marketing material

My 30-foot-tall tree fell in my front yard on
December 1st, 2011.

Last week, a barrage of unusually strong wind came whipping through the western United States.  When it whipped over the eastern mountains of the Wasatch Front, my town was the hardest hit; the gusts were over 100 miles per hour!  For those of you keeping track, that's level-two-hurricane-strength winds!

MORE cheap ways to help your "personal brand"

In my original post, "Cheap ways to help your 'personal brand'...," I mentioned two specific methods: improving your LinkedIn profile and setting up a professional blog.  I still recommend these two methods to everyone.  However, looking back, there was WAY more I could have said!

To keep with the theme from the first, however, I'll mention only two others:

The best of James Bond, in ONE novel!

From an article in The Guardian:


In a shocking turn for the debut novel by Q.R. Markham, Assassin of Secrets, the US publisher is recalling all copies and offering refunds to those who have already purchased the book.  The UK publisher is taking back all copies of the book before it is released there this week.  Why are they doing it?

The answer is simple: plagiarism.

Void Your Warranty with STYLE!

I just read an article on Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/09/iphone-mod-apple-logo/) that mentioned a mod, by iPatch, that will light up the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone.  If you check out this picture, it looks pretty cool!  They do mention at the end of the article that it will most definitely void your warranty, and that makes me pause and think:

WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO THIS?!

You spend a lot of money to get an iPhone, and it does so many cool things already, why void the warranty just so the back lights up?  Plus, it only has limited battery life.  This will, of course, drain the battery faster.  Is it worth having your phone die in the middle of a conversation?  For me, the answer is: NO FREAKIN' WAY!

The Marketing Take-away: Legal is always better!
Why would a company waste their time on making unauthorized mods?  Focus on making authorized mods instead.  Working with a company, especially one like Apple, is a huge advantage to your business, and provides much more industry clout than being "that company that makes mods."  I guarantee that iPatch doesn't have as high of a reputation as they might working WITH Apple.

-MJP

Apple Goes Solar

Schematic for one of Apple's filed patents.

Apple recently filed for two patents in the area of solar power, and they have three more in the works (http://gigaom.com/cleantech/how-apple-could-revolutionize-solar/).  If they get these patents, and even if they don't, what could this mean for Apple devices going forward?  All I can say is: WOW!

You already know you can download music DIRECTLY to your iPod, so the only need for the computer is to CHARGE the device and act as a backup for your entire music library.  Imagine if your iPod could be powered by the sun; that would mean no more charging via the computer.

So, other than for backing up your database...wait a minute.  Look at this: http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html.  Well, now that's taken care of, too.  It seems to me that Apple just disconnected me from wires, completely.  How cool is THAT?!

The Marketing Take-away: Unplugged is a HUGE marketing plus!
iCloud and solar power could put Apple's devices in a league all their own, and this super-huge added value is marketing GOLD!  To no longer need a cord at all - to be truly portable - is a strategic advantage that can't currently be matched by anyone.

How Could Customer-focused Marketing Hurt Your Brand?

Click here to go to a BrandAid from Killian Branding.  It brought up interesting downsides to being a customer-focused company.  In an age where customer-centric activities are expected of all businesses, claims of being focused on customers' needs change from competitive advantage to liability.

Unfortunately for many companies, they still tout their love of customers as their main strength.  If you think about it, though, who DOESN'T love their customers?  Buyers of your products are who keep the doors open; without them, you would have no business.  So, of course, you love them to pieces.  It's a give!

On what, then, should companies focus their attentions?  The article states some interesting statistics that help put it in perspective.  For instance, if a company experiences 6% growth each year with it's current customer base, it will double its business in 12 years.  That's not bad, but, especially for companies with high growth potential, that could be increased dramatically by focusing efforts on gaining new loyal customers.  That's right: NEW customers!

Remember the old adage: it's more expensive to gain a new customer that to cultivate an existing one.  Does this new focus mean the adage isn't true anymore?  No, of course not!  It's still cheaper to keep existing clients. That means that less time and energy has to be spent to keep them happy.  Now, what can you do with the extra time?  Get NEW customers!

-MJP